by Tia Wylder
Chapter 13: Facing the Storm
Charlie stared hungrily down at the raviolis and garlic bread on his plate. Elizabeth laughed, “You can eat.”
“No. A gentleman does not eat until the lady has received her food.” He waited for her to fix her own plate.
“Oh, well in that case, I’ll hurry up.”
She sat down next to him. As soon as her plate hit the table, he started munching on his dinner. “Mmmm! Dad is an awesome cook. Way better than mom.” He paused, guiltily, “Don’t tell mom I said that.”
Elizabeth mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“When will Dad be back?”
“I’m not sure. He said he would try to be back before we finish eating.” Thunder rumbled outside. Elizabeth’s eyes widened in fear.
Not noticing her discomfort, Charlie began to eat as quickly as he could. With a mouth full of food, he managed to say, “Hurry! The faster we eat, the faster he will be back!”
“I don’t think it works like that.” It was a sweet thought, but it wouldn’t make Derrick come back any quicker.
Suddenly, the little boy doubled over in pain clutching his side. “Ow!”
“Charlie?! What’s wrong?” Elizabeth stood up and rushed over to him. Panic contorted her face.
“My side hurts!” He looked up at her with big eyes. The pain on his little face made her heart break. “Make it stop.”
“Maybe it’s just gas.” She fumbled around her purse for her phone to call Derrick. Outside, lightening flashed. It was closer now.
“Owww!” He groaned and sank to the floor.
“It’ll be okay.” She pulled out her phone. It was dead. Charlie was crying now. His sobs were quiet and uncontrollable. He wasn’t doing it for show. The little boy in front of her was in agony. She couldn’t call anyone. She had to get him to the hospital. “Can you walk?” He wordlessly shook his head no and clutched his side again as another wave of pain took hold of him. “Alright, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to pick you up and take you next door to my car. I’ll take you to the hospital. Everything will be okay.”
Elizabeth scooped him up from the floor and carried him to the door. Outside, the sky was turning green, and the wind howled at her. Thunder pounded the air. She fought the wave of terror that tried to force her back inside. Charlie needed her. She had to do this.
Charging across the lawn, she cradled him against her. Rain beat against her arms and shoulders like tiny, angry fists. She gently put him in the backseat and buckled him up. Her fingers fumbled her car charger into the port on her phone as she used the windshield wipers to flick off another notice from the HOA about her car. Focusing only on the child in the seat behind her, she was able to set aside her own fears momentarily. Her eyes fixed on the road as she took off into the storm.
Elizabeth parked under the awning by the emergency room and ran to the back door to get Charlie out. He was still clutching his side. “You’re doing great, Charlie. Just hang on.” She carried him inside to the nurses’ desk. An orderly ran over to them and brought out a wheelchair.
“What’s going on?” The receptionist looked at the child in alarm.
“We were eating dinner, and he started clutching his side.”
“How long has the pain been going on?”
“About ten minutes. I got here as fast as I could.”
“Are you his mother? Is he allergic to anything?”
“I’m just babysitting. I don’t know if he’s allergic to anything.” She was starting to panic more. She clutched her barely charged phone as she tried to call Derrick. He didn’t answer. “I’m trying to call his dad.”
“Okay. We’ll take him back to have a doctor look over him. You keep trying to reach his father.”
Elizabeth nodded and hit redial. No answer. “Derrick, I had to bring Charlie to the hospital. He’s in a lot of pain. Please, please get here as soon as you can. I have no idea what he’s allergic to or anything else.” She tried to call him five more times. No answer. She paced back and forth.
A doctor came out from behind two double doors, “Are you the lady who brought in Charlie Page?”
“Yes.”
“We had to take him into emergency surgery. His appendix is highly enflamed. Have you reached his parents yet?”
Elizabeth shook her head no, “There’s no answer. I called and left a voicemail. I’ll keep trying.”
The doctor nodded. “Let the nurses know when one of the parents get here so we can get some forms filled out.”
“Okay,” she choked back a sob, “is he going to be okay?”
Chapter 14: Missed Calls
Derrick looked down at the portfolio Erin had given him. “Miss Calgary, I’m sure that your company and mine would be a sound investment; however, I am unable to accept your proposal.”
“Why not? Because we kissed? This partnership will make us both a lot of money.”
“Something are more important to me than money.”
“What? That little dark haired girl from the hotel? Was that your girlfriend?”
“At the time, no. I have come to realize that she means more to me than I thought she did, and after our tryst at the hotel, I know she would feel insecure if we were to combine our businesses.”
“So, you’re giving up all of the profits we could make for this woman who isn’t even your girlfriend?”
“Yes.” He handed the portfolio back to her.
Erin sighed, “Okay, but I must warn you that Hartman and Craft are next on my list.”
“They would be lucky to have you.” Derrick smiled and opened the door for her to exit his office. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go have dinner with my son.” Derrick pulled out his phone to turn the volume back up. Seven missed calls. His stomach plummeted as he listened to the voicemail. Charlie was in the hospital?! He ran outside to get in his car, but it was missing. Lightening arched across the sky. At the far end of the street, he saw a tow truck pulling it away. In his hurry to get the meeting over with, he had parked in a no parking zone. He had to get to the hospital.
“Is something wrong?” Erin stood beside her own car. Rain pelted both relentlessly.
“My son is in the hospital, and my car just got towed away.
Understanding flashed across her face. “Get in.”
Derrick dove into the front seat of her car, and she peeled out of the parking lot. Erin drove as fast as she could towards the hospital, but even so he wanted her to go faster. When she finally parked outside of the emergency room, Derrick leapt from the car and ran into the hospital. Erin was about to drive away when a loud ringing caught her attention. In the passenger seat beside her, Derrick’s phone lit up.
Chapter 15: Shattered Pieces
Elizabeth was still trying to call Derrick when he ran in through the double doors. “You’re here!”
“Where is he? Is he okay?”
One of the nurses looked up, “Are you the father?”
“Yes. What’s wrong? Is he okay?”
The nurse paged someone in the back, and a doctor came out. “Mr. Page?” Derrick nodded. “Your son had to have an emergency appendectomy. He made it through surgery fine, and he’s resting now. You were lucky this young lady brought him in when she did. Any longer, and his appendix would have ruptured.”
“When can I see him?”
“Once the anesthesia wears off, I’ll come get you.” The doctor walked back into the back after Derrick nodded.
“Hey, you left your…” A redheaded woman stepped into the waiting room holding Derrick’s phone in her hand.
Elizabeth looked from the woman to Derrick. She recognized her from the hotel. He had been with her? He had left his son with her while he went off to meet another woman? Elizabeth felt like she was going to be sick. The joy of finding out that Charlie was going to be okay was instantly flushed away. She shook her head and ran outside. The storm was letting up now.
“Lizzie!” Derrick called after her, but he couldn’t leave the waiting room in case the doctor came back. As much as he cared about her, he couldn’t leave his son alone right now. He had already let him down once tonight. He couldn’t do it again.
Erin sighed and rolled her eyes. She handed him his phone with a bored look on her face. “I’ll go talk to her. You stay here.”
Erin finally found her hunched over a fountain, crying. She sat down beside her and waited for the sobbing girl to look up. Elizabeth wiped her cheeks with her hands, “What do you want?”
“To tell you the truth.”
Elizabeth scoffed, “I don’t want to hear about the sordid details of what happened with you and Derrick.”
“Actually, I think you do. That night at the hotel, he stopped me. We literally kissed, and that was all that happened. He asked me to leave. I was at the hotel to check it out for a business proposal. Tonight, I came to pitch my company to him, but he refused. Do you know why?”
Elizabeth shook her head. She was hanging on every word. “No.”
“He refused because he thought the partnership would make you self-conscious. That man in there just turned down a huge business opportunity because he thought it might make you feel bad since I was the one involved.” Erin chuckled dryly to herself. “He said that some things are more important than money. You are lucky to have him.”
“Why did you have his phone?” She sniffled, but the tears had stopped.
“His car was towed while we were having our meeting. Since it was an emergency, I offered to drive him.”
“That’s all it was?” She was starting to perk back up now.
“That’s it.”
Elizabeth embraced the other woman in a tight hug, “Thank you for telling me all of this. Some women would have just let me think the worst.”
“Yeah, well, when a guy as good as that is involved, I think he should catch a fair break.” She patted Elizabeth awkwardly on the back and pulled away. “Now, there’s a man in there worried about his son and about you. I think you can put him at ease on at least one of those things, don’t you think?”
Nodding, Elizabeth set off to find him. When she got back inside, Derrick was hunkered over in a chair. His fingers grasped the back of his head. The clicking of her shoes across the tiles made his head shoot up.
“Lizzie!” Derrick stood up. He was worried he wouldn’t come back. “I swear I didn’t know it was her tonight.”
“I know. She told me.”
His eyes searched her face. “You brought him here during the storm, didn’t you?”
Elizabeth nodded. Now that everything was over, the fear and anxiety overwhelmed her. “I was so scared.” Her breath shuddered. She felt like she was going to collapse.
Derrick pulled her to his chest and held her head against him. His heartbeat echoed in her ear. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
“Where is he?!” Catherine’s shrill voice screamed at the nurses on duty. A young blonde man stood beside her.
Derrick sighed. He had called her to let her know that Charlie was in the hospital but that he was okay. Their personal differences aside, she still had a right to know. “He’s still in recovery. The doctor will come get us when Charles wakes up.
“Where were you when it happened?”
“I was at work. I had to go in for a few minutes.”
Catherine’s eyes bulged, “You left our son alone with one of your tramps?!”
“She is not a tramp! You should be thanking her. If she hadn’t brought him in, he would have been a lot worse off.” Derrick pushed Elizabeth behind him, fashioning himself into a human shield.
A calm voice interrupted them. “Is the Page family here?” A doctor in a long, white coat stood at the edge of the room.
“Yes, we’re here.” Catherine rushed over to him.
“He’s awake now. You can see him if you like.”
Derrick gave Elizabeth’s hand a squeeze. “Could you wait here for me?”
“Yes. Of course.” She watched as Derrick and his ex-wife followed the doctor behind the closed doors.
“When can he come home?” Derrick tried to keep his voice even, but the truth was that he was still worried.
“We would like to keep him two or three days just to make sure he doesn’t have any complications.”
The doctor knocked on a wooden door before opening it. Charlie was propped up on pillows. An IV was pumping fluids into his arm. He still seemed a little groggy, but he managed a smile. It wasn’t very often that he got to see his mom and dad together in the same room.
“How are you feeling, buddy?”
“Better, but I’m sore.”
“You did really good. You’ll be completely better before you know it.” Catherine tried to keep the pain out of her voice. She didn’t want to worry her son by crying in front of him. Her fingers grasped his little hand.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Hmm?”
Charlie looked around as if he was missing something. “Where is your friend?”
Derrick brushed a few curls back on his son’s head. “She’s in the waiting room.”
“Could you tell her thank you for me?” Charlie’s brown eyes began to droop as the pain medicine kicked in.
“Sure thing, buddy.” Derrick leaned in and kissed his forehead.
The doctor jerked his head, signaling it was time for them to step out. Once they were in the hallway, he handed some forms to Catherine. “We need these filled out. One of you can stay with him tonight if you want to.”
“I’ll stay.” She moved the ink pen across the forms, checking boxes and filling out information.
Derrick nodded, “Okay. Call me if there are any changes.” He shook the doctor’s hand and made his way back to the waiting room.
“How is he?” Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip.
“He’ll be okay. Catherine will stay with him tonight. How did you get here?”
“I drove my car.”
“Do you think you could give me a lift back home?”
“Yeah, of course.”
The two of them wound their way across the hospital parking lot until they found her car. Derrick slid into the passenger seat. “Charlie wanted me to tell you thank you for him.”
“He’s a good kid.” A small relieved smile toyed with her lips.
“Yeah. He is. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to him.” His fingers scratched the stubble on his chin, and he let out a worried sigh.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
Elizabeth felt her face growing hotter. “For running off before you had a chance to explain. It’s hard for me to trust you. I keep remembering the way I felt when I saw that other woman leaving your hotel room that night, and it makes it hard for me to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“Trust and respect are not things that are freely given. They take time to build up. I’m actually glad that you are worried about stuff like that.”
“Why?”
“It means that you are guarding your heart, at least a little bit. Only a child would believe in someone without any doubts at all. Plus, if it worries you that I might do something behind your back with someone else, then I think that makes you less likely to cheat. You don’t want to have to go through that pain, so you will make an extra effort to stay out of those situations. A little jealousy is natural. I just need you to hear me out if you have a concern. I don’t want you to get hurt because of a misunderstanding.”
Elizabeth let his words sink in as she drove. Her heart was still hammering in her chest by the time she parked in her driveway again. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” She walked slowly towards her door.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home. I thought that you might want some alone time after everything that happened today.
Derrick reached out and took her hand. “We still have a date to finis
h.”
Chapter 16: Redo
Derrick flipped on the lights in his home. It seemed quieter without Charlie in it now. Every time his son left, he felt a hole reopening inside his chest. His backpack and toys were still strewn across the living room. Derrick wandered into the kitchen.
“It’s probably cold by now.” Elizabeth scooped up the dirty dishes on the table and began to scrape the excess food on the plates into the trash.
“That’s fine. I’m not really hungry anyway.” He took the plates from her and placed them in the sink.
“What are you doing? I need to at least rinse them, or you’ll never get them clean.”
Derrick had stopped listening to her. His eyes smoldered as he stepped closer to her. Elizabeth stepped backwards until her back was almost against the wall. He was coming closer. Her hands were still hovering in front of her where she had been holding the dishes. Derrick grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the wall. Elizabeth gasped as he closed the rest of the distance between them. She could barely breathe. His head leaned down and hovered just in front of her lips. He let the anticipation build before he let their lips touch. Elizabeth’s body melted into the kiss. His chest pressed against her firmly. The sensation made her moan softly. Being so close to her gave him an adrenaline rush. He wanted to trail his kisses down her body, but now was not the time for that.
Derrick pulled away with a satisfied look on his face. Elizabeth gazed at him in a daze. “What was that for?”